A 40-something
perspective
Eighteen years old is a land far far away now.
But after two weeks in Thailand recently with two of them,
This Girl has a few observations.
They know how to shop
Eighteen year olds prefer to spend their money on
cosmetics and fake Jimmy Choo than sightseeing, alcohol and practically
anything else, including water in 30+
degree heat. Bargaining comes naturally. Missy could often be seen staring down a shop assistant saying, 'Do you want the sale or not?'
They can sleep practically anywhere
15 minute taxi rides, the bus from the airport, the
airport. Usually with their mouths open and a painful head nod.
Forty-somethings don’t sleep enough. We just look on with envy. And take
embarrassing photos.
They don’t know what they’re missing
Focused on shopping means they don’t see
architecture, culture, diversity and their travelling companions. As much as
eighteen year olds are adults, they're also not quite there yet either.
They can connect to wifi before you
can say wifi
Messenger, Facebook, GoPro, Twitter, Email,
Instagram, whatever, they’re up with all of it. And before you’ve
found ‘Settings’ they’ve posted their location.
Their palates haven’t developed yet
Faced with five pages of cocktail menu they have to
ask, ‘What do you think I’d like?’ Their drink of choice is vodka and orange.
‘Would I like Campari?’ No.
To their credit they discovered Peruvian Pisco and enjoyed
it with passionfruit syrup.
